WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath to Explore 165 Years of Armed Conflict through the Eyes of Photographers

Opens at the MFAH in November 2012; travels to the Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and the Brooklyn Museum

Houston—March 2012—In November 2012, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will debut an unprecedented exhibition exploring the experience of war through the eyes of photographers. WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath includes nearly 500 objects, including photographs, books, magazines, albums and photographic equipment. The photographs were made by over 280 photographers from 28 nations who have covered conflict on six continents over 165 years, from the Mexican-American War in 1846 through present-day conflicts. The exhibition will travel to the Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Brooklyn Museum.

The exhibition takes a critical look at the relationship between war and photography, exploring what types of photographs are, and are not, made, and by whom and for whom, during wartime. Rather than presenting a chronological survey of wartime photographs or a survey of “greatest hits,” the curators have identified types of photographs repeatedly made during the many phases of war—regardless of the size or cause of the conflict, the photographers’ or subjects’ culture or the era in which the pictures were made.

The exhibition opens at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, on view November 11, 2012–February 3, 2013. Following the Houston presentation, WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY travels to the Annenberg Space for Photography (Los Angeles, CA), March 3–May 26, 2013; the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.), June 29–September 29, 2013; and the Brooklyn Museum, November 8, 2013–February 2, 2014. A symposium and additional events will take place opening weekend in Houston. In addition, related exhibitions will be presented throughout the city of Houston, including at the Houston Center for Photography (HCP), as well as collaborations with Houston Grand Opera and other community partners (to be announced). At the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, the exhibit will include an original documentary film produced exclusively for the gallery’s high-resolution 4K screens.

Books about Dan Eldon

Dan’s Mission Statement

Safari as a Way of Life"To explore the unknown and the familiar, distant and near and to record in detail with the eyes of a child, any beauty, (of the flesh or otherwise) horror, irony, traces of utopia or Hell. Select your team with care, but when in doubt, take on some new crew and give them a chance. But avoid at all costs fluctuations of sincerity with your best people."